On August 3rd, the third semi-closed opening event was held. The guests will be Tomohiko Mori of gallery deux poissons, who has been a leader in Japan's contemporary jewelry world since its opening in 2003 and has been handling SIRI SIRI since its early days, and Toshio Yagihara, a glass craftsman who handles popular items such as the KIRIKO series. We had a dialogue with SIRI SIRI designer Naho Okamoto about the future of contemporary jewelry and Japanese craftsmanship.

SIRI SIRI jewelry and glass

Okamoto: I'm Okamoto, the designer. Mori-san and I have known each other since SIRI SIRI was launched. Since that time, we have been dealing with artists who are said to be pioneers in glass jewelry.

Mori: From that time on, there weren't many places that dealt with author's jewelry. When I started, I handled more works by foreign artists than I do now. There were various materials, but there were not so many people who made glass jewelry.

Okamoto: Mr. Yagihara is also a glass craftsman who has been involved with us since the launch. (Looking at the video in progress in the store) Could you briefly introduce this production technique?

Glass craftsman Toshio Yagihara

Yagihara: First of all, SIRI SIRI's glass jewelry is characterized by its material being heat-resistant glass. When it comes to glass, people often think of blown glass, but in my case, I use a burner to create the shape. With this method, it is possible to create very fine details, so you can create shapes that cannot be found anywhere else. Originally, we are a laboratory equipment company, so we apply the materials and techniques used there to jewelry.

Okamoto: We get a lot of requests to "shift this part by 0.3mm", so Mr. Yagihara's delicate technique is essential. Before we talk about crafts this time, could you tell us about the types of glass and what techniques are available?

Yagihara: There are two types of processing technology: hot work, which melts glass with heat, and cold work, which grinds glass. Hot work includes burner work and blowing glass using a blowing rod, and cold work includes cut glass and sandblasting, and each has a very different world view. There are two types of glass: soft and hard. Soft glass is easy to process, so it is often used in window glass and tableware. Hard glass is so-called hard glass, which is hard and resistant to heat and chemicals. Heat-resistant glass is categorized as hard, and was mostly used for laboratory equipment and was rarely used for crafts, but in recent years it has begun to attract attention, and has spread to jewelry brands such as SIRI SIRI and other fields. .

Okamoto: Heat-resistant glass was originally invented by Germany as a military industry. I believe that it began to be used in crafts due to changes in the times.

Yagihara: As a heat-resistant glass craft, it's still about 30 years old. So when SIRI SIRI came out, I think it was fresh. Even in Europe and America, where glass is more popular than in Japan, you don't see that many heat-resistant glass jewelry.

Mori: Certainly, I don't think there are that many.

Okamoto: Is there a lot of soft glass in jewelry?

Yagihara: No, when it comes to glass accessories, beads are the basics. It has a history that goes back to the Stone Age, and there are many developmental systems even today.

Mori: Come to think of it, bead embroidery and Swarovski are also glass.

Okamoto: My favorite Florentine mosaic glass is also included. If so, the history of using glass, which is a craft, for jewelry may be quite old. Come to think of it, Mr. Mori, you said that there was a time when there was no decoration culture in Japan, or rather, there was no jewelry.

Mori: There are various theories, but it is said that there was a period of about 1,300 years. It is said that as a result of the inclusion of Magatama in the Three Sacred Treasures at that time, the culture of wearing pure ornaments disappeared. After that, I began to decorate things with functions, such as kimono patterns, weights for holding things, swords that represent ranks, and obi clips that represent seasons. Rings that were found before 1300 do not appear to have been found after 1300 either.

Okamoto: If you look at pictures of Ainu people, they are quite decorative, such as necklaces, but the Yamato race doesn't carry them down very often. Although it is primitive.

Mori: It would have been interesting if jewelry were depicted in ukiyo-e.

Okamoto: Certainly. Come to think of it, you mentioned earlier that heat-resistant glass began to be used about 10 years ago. SIRI SIRI was also mainly transparent at first, but as you can see from looking at the store, I originally liked colors and wanted to do colored items. However, at that time, the glass rods for processing were only transparent, so I gave up. Was that an import from the US?

Yagihara: Yes. Color was developed in the United States about 20 years ago, and it has only increased in the last 10 years.

Okamoto: That's why the recent "EXCAVATION" has become a glass series with delicate colors. Colored glass is also about the last 10 years.

Yagihara: Yes. When I met Mr. Okamoto, I had been working with glass as a physics and chemistry instrument craftsman, and I wanted to take a peek into the world of art myself. I didn't know that hard glass had colors, but at the dragonfly ball workshop, I learned for the first time that heat-resistant glass also has colors. From there, I started looking for art-related information myself, and artists and people from colored glass makers came to Japan from the United States, so I started chasing them.

Okamoto: Speaking of America, Mr. Yagihara and our craftsmen often go to America to study. What school are you going to?

Yagihara: There are several large glass schools in the United States, such as Corning, Penland, and Pilchuck. Seattle is synonymous with the American glass movement.

Okamoto: How long was it?

Yagihara: The curriculum itself is two to three weeks, but if you want to go for a long time, you can also take other curriculums. I went there for a month.

Okamoto: That's right. I am grateful to be able to return the new skills and knowledge that I gained while studying abroad.

The relationship between crafts and jewelry

Okamoto: I wonder what kind of relationship exists between crafts and jewelry. I think that in regions like Japan and Italy where handicrafts are thriving, it was important to add decorations that were more than functional in order to present them to the king. I wonder what kind of influence that culture had on jewelry.

Tomohiko Mori from gallery deux poissons

Mori: Japan's Meiji Emperor put a lot of effort into crafts, and the Sannomaru Art Museum in the Imperial Palace also houses crafts. Specially excellent craftsmen were given the title of Imperial Household Artist, which is similar to what we now call a Living National Treasure.

The first professor of metal engraving at Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts) was later selected as one of the Imperial Household Artists. At Tokyo University of the Arts, the inheritance of traditional techniques is fundamental, so even in the Department of Crafts, the focus is on engraving, casting, and forging, such as making obi fasteners in the case of metal crafts. However, I believe that Yasuki Hiramatsu, who served as a professor from 1984 to 1994, had a great influence on the flow of making jewelry.

Okamoto: Is it because of him that metal jewelry making using engraving and hammering became popular in Japan?

Mori: Yes. He came from a family of traditional metal engravers, and I think it was rare for such a family to make jewelry. I think it was new to apply metal engraving techniques for sword decoration and obidome, instead of arranging techniques imported from Europe in a Japanese way. Overseas, he is still called Professor Hiramatsu, and is particularly famous in the contemporary jewelry scene.

Okamoto: But it makes sense. Do all of the writers and artists handled by gallery deux poissons create their own works? SIRI SIRI is designed by me and made together with craftsmen.

Mori: There are more people who make their own.

Okamoto: The style of SIRI SIRI is completely different from that of an artist. Ms. Kazuko Mitsushima, a pioneer of glass jewelry, also makes her own, but I feel the beauty is completely different from ours.

Mori: It's a design that incorporates the contingency that is similar to pottery. I think that's what's interesting about precious metal jewelry, because usually there isn't much contingency.

Okamoto: The products I ask Mr. Yagihara to make are also made by hand, so there are individual differences, but the differences are very subtle. Ms. Mitsushima's free atmosphere is unique to a writer, so I admire her a bit.

Mori: It must be the difference in the way of expression. Mr. Mitsushima said that glass is beautiful when it breaks or melts.

Okamoto: Making jewelry with the beauty of glass itself seems to be a recent trend, but why has it become so popular in Japan?

Mori: Perhaps Japanese people are suited to the delicacy of trying to express the small control in millimeters necessary for jewelry with glass.

Perception of overseas jewelry

Okamoto: That's true. How is it overseas?

Mori: There are people in Holland who make blown glass jewelry, but I think many of them have a different taste than Japan. It feels more like a work of art.

Okamoto: It's almost an art piece. Are there many fans of that kind of jewelry in your store? I think the Japanese place a lot of importance on functionality.

Mori: Jewelry is not functional, so I think it doesn't matter how big it is. But I think people who make jewelry with different materials would like to wear a large one. The bigger the wood and glass, the more impressive it will be.

Okamoto: You can find a reason to use that material. In particular, if the glass is too small, it becomes a bead, so if you want to make the most of the characteristics of the material, the larger the size, the easier it will be. I think the Dutch artist's jewelry is also good, but I think it is necessary to consider functionality if it is to be deployed in Japan. In a sense, Japanese people put it on because they are fashion conscious, but it is also too heavy.

Mori: Well, yes.

Okamoto: The Netherlands is probably the strongest country in terms of contemporary jewelry overseas.

Mori: There are galleries and artists in Holland, Australia, and the United States. Each taste is different, so I think that's an interesting point.

For example, in Italy, gold is used to create jewelry with a sculptural feel, while in Holland, different materials are used to create conceptual jewelry.

Okamoto: It's pretty close to fine art.

Mori: The same is true for overseas contemporary music. In the case of Japan, I think there is a vague line between authors and designers, and there is an emphasis on fashion.

Okamoto: There are universities in Switzerland that have jewelry courses, but they are more like art pieces. Perhaps in the countries you just mentioned, jewelry as art and everyday life are completely different.

Mori: Yes. But Spain and Australia may be closer to Japan.

Okamoto: I don't really have an image of Australian contemporary jewelry. What is it like?

Mori: Australia has a lot of nature, so many people create works with organic forms and colors. Spain has a slightly similar nuance, but I get the impression that there are many people who make delicate things using precious metals. In terms of common parts, there are many people who apply coloring to precious metals.

Okamoto: Don't you think too much about durability?

Mori: It seems that precious metals are better when you get bald even if you color them. In Japan, it seems that if you want to paint a color, you don't need to use precious metals in the first place.

Okamoto: Even the plating hesitates. But it's typical of the West to allow even contemporary jewelry to go out of fashion. Basically, many people in Japan want to keep beautiful things as they are.

Mori: In the past, I had a ring repaired from overseas, but some of the base metal was worn out due to overuse. I have never seen anything like this in Japanese repairs, but I think it was used regularly every day. As a creator, I'm glad that people like it so much.

Okamoto: In Japan, platinum is worshiped and gold is 18-karat gold, but jewelry and crafts are quite different.

The future of arts and crafts

Okamoto: Another thing that interests me now is that art and crafts are getting closer. What do you think will happen in the future?

Mori: Sales methods have changed considerably. Nowadays, sales at auctions and art fairs are becoming more popular besides galleries, but art fairs have several types of work genres and galleries. First of all, there are fine art and applied art in the genre of works, the former includes paintings, the latter includes glass, pottery, vessels, and jewelry. Galleries also have primary and secondary. The primary is a place where contemporary artists' works are exchanged at the desired price, and the secondary is a place where someone has bought once, such as Picasso and Miró. In the case of gallery deux poissons, it is the 'primary gallery for applied art'. From now on, I would be happy if more primary galleries of applied art exhibit at art fairs.

Okamoto: I feel like it's more exciting than it used to be.

Mori: I hope it gets even more exciting from now on. I also hope that jewelry can be developed as a genre. In order to realize that, I think it is important to continue to develop rare and good works.

Okamoto: Japan is based on lifestyle art, so fine art doesn't exist historically. If you think so, it seems that Japanese writers will be able to play an active role in the world in the future.

Mori: Since the Meiji era, Japanese crafts have been popular overseas, so exports may grow even more in the future. At the same time, I think it would be even better if there were more collectors of contemporary crafts in Japan.

Okamoto: It's true that the market for buying and decorating art is bigger overseas.

Mori: There are some price differences between Japan and overseas. At art fairs in England, there are some silver jars sold for around 5 million to 8 million. The reason why silver is so important in England is because there is a culture that considers silverware to be the highest quality. You're used to spending money on silver. But what about Japan's finest tableware?

Okamoto: Wood and lacquer!

Mori: That's part of the reason why there's a difference.

Okamoto: That's an interesting story. I saw the work of Gian Paolo Babette at LOEWE's craft prize exhibition the other day.

Mori: The most famous artist in the Italian contemporary jewelry world. I'm not sure how much the exhibited work is, but I think it will probably be over 10 million yen.

Okamoto: It has value as art, and the artist recognizes it, so it ends up being about that price. Italy has something of an aristocratic culture.

Mori: There are places like that. His works are characterized by the texture of the file, but basically rings are not suitable for resizing. Considering commercial jewelry, it's strange that resizing is not possible, but I don't think paintings are redrawn just because the size doesn't fit, so I think it's the same feeling.

Okamoto: It's an artist's way of being that's unheard of in modern times.

Mori: But there seem to be quite a few such patrons in Italy and other countries. I also deal with various artists, but in Japan there are many people who like the works of the artists and buy them.

Okamoto: I see. Mr. Mori will talk about the potential for Japanese designers and artists to play an active role in the field of applied art in the future, and Mr. Yagihara will talk about how craftsmen are creating a foundation for crafts from industrial products. is ready. If we can combine these two, we can create something fun, so I hope we can make it happen with SIRI SIRI someday. thank you very much.

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A talk show that was held three times. Various guests appeared and talked about a wide range of themes centered on SIRI SIRI. SIRI SIRI will continue to disseminate such information.

Written by Sanae Kimura

Photo Yuki Tsunezumi